International Women's Day: Indian Army wives, a salute to the unsung bravehearts behind every strong soldier

The Armed Forces are one of the noblest professions a person can take up to serve his motherland. There is no greater satisfaction in life then serving your country donning the Green Olives.

While the rank and file of the armed forces are well respected by one and all for their daunting bravery and courage, there is an unsung hero who plays a pivotal life in making a soldier - a man of steel. It indeed is their better halves, the wives of the men in uniform.

While the security forces personnel brave it out against all odds defending the frontiers of the nation enduring the enemy bullets, their lady wives are the backbone around whom the entire fortunes of their family revolve.

For a considerable part of their service tenure, the officers and jawans of the Indian Army are posted in designated ‘field areas’, areas close to the borders in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East where families cannot be permanently stationed. Hence the wives stay back in separated family accommodations in military stations for the welfare of their children.

It is the ladies who play the role of a mother to perfection and bring up their kids, instilling human values which form the building blocks of grooming them into a better citizen. Staying away from one's family is not every body’s cup of tea, but the army ladies exemplify the heart of a lioness to make that supreme sacrifice in order to get their children through the right schooling and get admission in good colleges. 

As a matter of fact, most Army officers wives who have an admirable education record take a backseat in their careers choosing their household over their profession so that the future of their children can be secured. By taking over the responsibility of the family, their husbands do full justice to their profession and discharge their duties as an army man to the best of their abilities.

Meanwhile, army officers daughters have left an impregnable mark in different walks of life and rubbed shoulders with their male counterparts to reach the very top of their chosen professions. Be it shinning in the world of cinema or entertainment or being a world class sportswomen or leaving a stamp of their own in the political arena, army officer’s daughters have been second to none. There are examples aplenty.

Be it the likes of leading Bollywood actresses - Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, Anushka Sharma or Celina Jaitley, they all had a defence background. Likewise, notable actress Gul Panag who is now a leading social activist is an Army General’s daughter. Mayanti Langer who has become a household name as one of India’s leading sports anchor and presenter is also an Army officer’s daughter.          
The environment in which army kids grow up gives them one distinct advantage of gelling around with people and being adaptive to different situations.Anushka Sharma in one of her recent interviews credited her army background for being part of her successful career so far. 

She also says that she had a very liberal upbringing because of her parent's army mindset. “Parents from defence background have a more liberated set of values which adds to the inherent confidence and self-belief their children display,”

A mother, a daughter, a wife , army ladies have donned many hats and come out with flying colours in each role. It has been very rightly said that behind every strong soldier, there is an even stronger braveheart — who is the Army wife.

On International Women’s Day, a salute to the Army ladies who are a pillar of constant strength and support to their husbands and children.